2008 - Research Fellow: Laboratory of Biophysics and Surface Analysis (LBSA), School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham.

Research Summary

Current technologies for surface functionalization and patterning provide control of molecular deposition and order at the micron scale. However, these micron-scale technologies now represent a… read more

Current Research

Current technologies for surface functionalization and patterning provide control of molecular deposition and order at the micron scale. However, these micron-scale technologies now represent a bottleneck for future applications (e.g., single molecule screening and the development of cellular arrays), and are limiting further improvements in the throughput rate and/or reproducibility of existing technologies. Within the scope of this project we're going to investigate new 2D templates which will provide spatial control of chemical and biological functionality on the 1-10 nm scale, and may offer a route to overcome this significant barrier. The ability to achieve such a level of control would create wide-ranging opportunities for improvements and exploitation in the pharmaceutical and life science, for example, in screening, diagnostics, protein 'chips', drug delivery and sensor applications alongside fundamental studies of macromolecular immobilization, film formation and molecular and/or cell-surface interactions. This highly interdisciplinary project brings together several research groups from The University of Oxford, St. Andrews and Nottingham as well as industrial and international collaborators. My role within this project is to develop new understanding and applications of spatial controlled, self-assembled, biofunctional surfaces using AFM, STM, SPR, and related techniques.